Sanitary dispensing valve



March 16, 1954 G. kPERSAK, JR., ETAL 2,672,316

sANARY DISPENSING VALVE Filed July 5, 1951 mgm Patented Mar. 16, 1954 G'eorge'- Persal, Jr.,y Verona, and` Walter'R Kim--4 ming. Rutherford. N'.. J., assi'gnorsi tof- The Oilj'ak Manufacturing.: Gm,

. Inc., corporation of New-Jersey4 Montclain, Ns' Ji., al

Applicato'JlyS; 1951, .Serial No.' 235,142

The?y invention? here' disclosed" relatesI t'oil liquid dispensingvalves;

General objects. of" the invention are-'- tof providef ari valve for' dispensing' liquids o'f a' more-or less critical; quick' spoiling character such as: milk' andfwhich can-be easily kept'V in clean, sanitary condition.

Further'objects ofth'e'finvention are to' provide' such a1 valve inv a minimum number'v of parts; readily 'separable for cleaning;

Spe'cial objects'iof.' the" invention are ibo-provide afsanitary form of'dispensin'g valve'which can be' manufactured and assembled at lowcost andi inl. which.the'sealing'portion of'tlieivalve maywhen necessary,v be'lreasily removed' andi bef quickly'and inexpensively replaced.Y

Furtherv special' obj ects; of the invention are'ito providea valvenon-residual and' self-draining character'4 soi as' not: to' entrapr'z or'z hold` any' liquid'- segregated from the: main.' body of'l liquid' being' dispensed.

Other.` desirable'v objects? attained byf the. inven tion are setLforth.' or will appear" in thecourse of?" the-followingspecification; wherein -novel' features? The drawing1 accompanying and forming" part of: the'zsp'eciflcation illustrates' a' presentc'ommer' cial embodiment of. the invention;` Structure; however, maybe'modiediandtchan'gediircertain'. respects, ally within. the'i true-1 intent'. of? the'. invention ashereinafter'dened andclaim'e'dz.

described and' broadlyF Fig; linthe drawingis ai broken sectiona'lfview'" showing one` of: the valves'. asl mounted' fori'us'e in' they bottom of a dispensing container.'- In .thi's= viewffthevalve appears inl closed; position?I Eig 2 isY a' similar: ViewVA showing. the. valve: in*A open position; Y

Fig. Sisa. broken verticalsectionwith.sectioned portions appearing' as'. on.. the* section line'1-3V--3foff Fig. 41 is: al broken.. horizontal.v cros'sse'ctional' View oifthe ported', tubularlvalve'st'em as'onfsub-f stantially the plane of lineld--ll of Fig.. 1%;

Fig; 5'. isfan. enlarged broken sectional detail? of? the' replaceablelsealin-'g ringfandicomp'anion vali/e1 parts.

Figs'. ita'nd 2 show'liowfthevalve-mayf bernounte ediwitlfi.thelbottcmloi'thecontainer flush# to drain the'-'entire contentsof'the container.

In these'views the' bottom wallT of: a dispensing'V containeris'indicated at l, having aush-op'en'ing- 8 'therein' defining a Xed annular valve" seat.

Actuallyv this valve seat".A is provided, inl theVV illustration', b'yf-tlieangul arly outet'urned flange f 9 on" the-upper end'V or" a' guide tube lil` seatedI in the annular recessed portion Ijl' ofthe bottom" wall surrounding the'L opening' i2' through' which the tub'eis'passedv This' flanged guide tube'ma'y be welded, braz'e'd;`

solderedor otherwise secured" with` the flange' smooth and flush with the'b'ottom so' as' to leaver no'` cracks ory crevices for accumulation' or contamination. g

The 'movable valve elementjc'onssts of'a tubular' stem'l3 confined in' freely' slidable relation` inthe guide tube l0 and carrying near its upper"enoja` ringY or rubber;` plasticY orother resilient'materi'al i4, enou'gl'r larger than' the' stem' tov make" sealing" latter; as` shown" in: Fi'g. 5",v may" be' somewhat" rounded or beveledI to' eiiect a' wedgin'g engages nient ofthesealing'rin'gthereoven K The'sealing element may be an: o`ringi o'fsmaii cross-sectional" dimensions to' make'. substantially" li'n'e engagementwiththe'rounded valveseat 8, so' asto' leave" practically 'no'orf minimum valve'v sur; face' are'a's:

The" valve ring" is elastically' retained on the" stem' by"b'eing"seatedinA lightly ten'sioned relation easily scrubbed and. these partsl to'y be: readily' maintained.v in; cleang.- sanitary-condition.

Below the:v sealing; ringi'thef valve-1' stem" is oi. tubularconstructiomasindieated at'1i3;.this.tubu.- lar formation extending dov/nf.A and through the. lower end, of:l the stern.-

At` theuppen enda` transverse passage I7. in-f tercepts the central passage I6, providing. ports. f opening` out-through..the-sident. the valve stem.

Means" for lifting the. valve. stem-1. to.y carryV the side ports. I1. up above the bottom of; the tank.,. is shownl in. the' formof.' a handf lever mi fulcrume'd onza suitable support atil i9' and having. a forked" end' 2li in` liftingv relation with .the lower end of" the" stem'. t

To prevent' residual" eie'cts the valve is made. selfcle'aring ori" self-:draining by providing. the tubular stem portion with a: downvvardl'y'flaringl di'sc'liarge' outlet" 2i" and" with'` syph'on breaking openingV outl a ports 22 in the side of the stem above the flaring discharge mouth.

This flaring discharge passage has the effect of increasing surface tension and drawing the liquid down the valve stem, this action being more or less initiated and aided by intake of air through the ports 22 in the side of the tubular member above the flaring discharge outlet and which ports are below the lower end of the guide tube l and fully exposed when the valve is lowered to the closed position, Figs. l and 3.

When the valve is lifted the relief ports 22 pass up into the guide tube and hence are closed, as shown in Fig. 2, so as not to affect the full, free discharge of liquid down the tubular member.

For practical reasons the flaring discharge mouth may be made as a separate piece, in the form of a sleeve 23 of larger diameter screwed over the lower end of the valve stem, in position to abut the lower end of the guide tube and hence act as a stop to limit the upward lifting movement of the valve element. Y

The relief ports 22 are shown provided by slotting the tubular valve element down through the lower end of the same, as indicated in Fig. 3, and the screw connection for the discharge sleeve 23 is shown as a coarse, screw threaded joint 24 readily separable and easy to clean. The split lower end of the tubular member may be slightly spread to impart a spring holding quality for resiliently securing the sleeve in position on the valve stem.

In addition to enforcing automatic drainage and limiting lifting movement of the valve stem, the sleve acts as a weight for closing the valve, and it is further shown as grooved at 25 to receive the fork 20 of the opening lever i8.

The upper end of .the valve stem is shown as having a fiat head or enlargement 26 providing mass and weight at this end, aiding in Athe smooth, free, sliding operation of the valve. This smoothly balanced operation of the valve enables clearance between guide tube and tubular valve stem to be kept at a minimum such as to substantially prevent flow of liquid in between the valve stem and tube.

Quick removal of the valve stem may be effected by simply unscrewing the flanged sleeve oi the lower end of the stem and after which the valve stem may be lifted up out of the guide tube.

--The parts are few and of simple, uncomplicated design. The valve is easily put together or taken apart. No corners or crevices are left for accumulation of liquid or solids.

Because of freedom from crevices the valve is particularly suited for dispensing milk and easily contaminated liquids, such as fruit juices and the like. The valve is self-flushing in its action and this, with the line type of sealing, enables it to handle liquids containing solid or pulpy materials such as orange juice.

The weight makes the valve self-closing but,

if desired, the action may be assisted by a spring or, particularly if space is limited, a closing spring may be substituted for thev weight.

The straight-down, unimpeded discharge through the center of the valve stem makes the valve self-clearing and avoids drip. No liquid is trapped in the valve to contaminate fresh liquid subsequently drawn from the container. In addition to facilitating easy cleaning, the loose engagement of the sealing ring in the wide groove provided for the saine permits the ring, under some circumstances, to adjust itself, as required,

to make proper sealing engagement with the valve seat.

The cross passages or ports l1 and 22 may enter the central discharge passage in the valve stem on a downward slant and may extend in only through one side of the valve stem.

The straight up and down self-closing action of the valve stem assures smooth, quiet and quick valve opening and closing operation. In addition to sanitary advantages, the complete self-flushing action of the valve is of particular importance in the handling of refrigerated liquids such as milk and fruit juices, because the valve does not at any time hold any trapped, unrefrigerated or less refrigerated portion of liquid out of the main, refrigerated content of the tank or reservoir.

What is claimed is:

A sanitary dispensing valve comprising a guide tube the axis of which is to be upright in use and having a laterally extended flange at the upper end of the same, said flange and tube joined by a rounded edge faced toward the interior of the tube and forming an annular valve seat having a rounded bearing edge, a valve stem having a free sliding engagement in said guide tube, said valve stem having acentral discharge passage extending from the upper portion down through the lower end of the same and an inlet opening through the side of the valve stem into the upper end of the discharge passage, said valve stem having a shallow flat bottomed annular groove about the same above said inlet, an elastic sealing ring of circular cross section resilientlyseated in said shallow groove and extending be-` yond the periphery of the stem to engage said rounded valve seat when the stem islowered, said shallow groove being of greater axialextent than the cross sectional diameter of said4 circular sealing ring and having inclined side4 walls permitting said sealing ring limited rolling and wedging action in the groove, a valve operating discharge sleeve on the lower end of said tubular valve stem, said sleeve being of greater diameter and projecting laterally beyond the stem into position to operate as a stop shoulder en' gageable with the lower end of the guide tube to limit the lifting valve opening movement of the stem and having means enabling it to be used as a handle foi lifting the valve stem and having sufficient weight to lower the valve stem to effect valve closing movement, said sleeve having readily separable screw threaded engagement over the lower end of the valve stem and where# by upon unscrewing said sleeve the valve stem i may be lifted up out of the guide tube for cleaning'or other purposes, said sleeve having a downwardly enlarged flaring discharge throat' larger S- than the discharge passage for increasing surface tension and drawing liquid down the discharge passage in the valve stem, and the valve stem having an air inlet port in the side of the same above said discharge throat and below the lower end of the guide tube when the valve stem is in lowered, valve closed position but adapted to be covered by the guide tube when the valve stem is lifted to the extent permitted by engagement of the discharge sleeve with the lower end of the guide tube, and said inlet opening in the side of the valve stem being located in posi' tion to be covered by the guide tube when the valve stem is lowered into position with the sealing ring resting on the rounded valve seat and to be above the valve seat when the valve stem is lifted to the extent permitted by engagement of the valve operating discharge sleeve with the Number lower end of the guide tube. 1,231,602 GEORGE PERSAK, JR. 1,316,729 WALTER R. KUZMIN. 2,358,228 References Cited in the le of this patent 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS Nmlgl Number Name Date 714,423

722,738 Mendham Mar. 17, 1903 10 1,052,556 Baham Feb. 11. 1913 Name Date Hart July 3, 1917 Pitcher Sept. 23, 1919 Hoof Sept. 12, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain 1915 Germany 1941 

